SSICSim 2015 Borders Joint Crisis Committee Wikia
PAGE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION. This page has been designed the supplement the materiel that delegates have read on the Background Guide. Much of the material on the Background Guide and this page is same (for example the relevant history section), so please keep that in mind when reading. Welcome from the Dias & Introduction The Dias of the Border Joint Crisis Committee would like to welcome you, the delegates, to SSICSim’s first joint crisis committee where you will experience a political/military simulation of a potential post – war situation occurring after a fictional Third World War in the late 1980s/early ‘90s. Our goal with this committee was to provide a realistic simulation of war and the political drama that surrounds it. The Dias, while not commissioned officers in any armed forces nor educated in proper military academies regarding the theory of war, have done their best to examine simulations of conflict, taking real life case studies such as the on-going War in Donbass and other conflicts in the past e.g. the Iraq War to present to you a simulation of a fictional conflict designed to be as accurate as possible account of war as seen by the generals and the political leaders who manage real life conflict. We only ask you to keep in mind that while this committee is meant to be as realistic as possible, it is still based off of information gained from simulations and as such, it can only be as realistic as a simulation, not a real war. We urge you, the delegates to put yourself in the shoes of the idealists, realists, the moderates and the extremists who are so often shaped by conflict and its inhumanity and examine the crimes that occur during war. Study whether such crimes are possible to prevent during war, or whether they are inevitable. As the committee is designed to be as realistic as possible, it will also be complicated and often times difficult to understand how it is run. The Dias will however guide both the committees through the entire process throughout all three days of the conference. A major part of this committee will be the concept of Combined Arms, a doctrine used by most major armies throughout the world. It is an approach to warfare where different types of military units (e.g. tanks and infantry) work together to complement each other in a battle. By working together, it is a strategy designed to minimise the weaknesses of both types of weapons/arms, while complementing each other’s strengths, allowing them to be as adaptable to the changing situation in the battlefield, as possible. The Dias will guide both committees through this doctrine, simplifying it as much as possible for your understanding. While we hope this becomes an educational experience for you and your knowledge of war increases greatly, this joint crisis is still designed to be fun (albeit in a rather nerdy way for a niche community). We have taken and will continue to take every step possible so that you enjoy your experience here in this committee at our first joint crisis committee. Good Luck to you all Regards, Abhinav Karmakar, Director of Joint Crisis & Under-Secretary General of Content, Alec King, Vice Director of Joint Crisis, Eric Bryce, Vice Director of Joint Crisis Background Guide & Relevant History The following background guide takes elements from real world Cold War history but also changes/retcons (changing historical events to fit the needs of a fictional work) certain historical aspects. As such, the reader should treat this background guide as realistic fiction. In 1981, as the Cold War revamped, after the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in the previous year, Solidairty, a Polish worker’s union taking stride in increased Western support (both vocally and through backchannels), became increasingly aggressive in organising illegal strikes throughout the People’s Republic of Poland (Communist Poland). The local government, caving under intense pressure to maintain stability in order to pay off its public debts to Western European governments, allows Solidarity to become the first independent workers union within Poland. This however had the unintended conseuences of severely destabilizing the Polish Communist Party’s hold over the country (Communism was meant to represent the workers, allowing in independent workers union challenged the Communist ideology). Eventually, the Soviet Union’s politburo had decided this was an undesirable precedent in Eastern Europe and as such, they had two options available to them. The USSR, with the assistance of the Warsaw Pact, would invade Poland and set up a friendlier regime by way of force, OR Sponsor a coup d’etat by the military to enforce the Brezhnev Doctrine (the doctrine in which the USSR assures to the world that it will take whatever steps necessary to protect Communism in Eastern Europe). Poland had a history of having benevolent military dictators and as such the politburo felt this would sit well with the public. During the same time as the events going on in Poland, Western Intelligence agencies began to cooperate to form the most ambitious intelligence operation conducted since the end of the Second World War. The CIA, MI6, and even Israel’s legendary Mossad (who had an interest in rescue and protecting the lives of Jewish persons within the Eastern Bloc) along with several other smaller intelligence agencies such as Greece’s National Intelligence Service, collaborated to begin Operation GTAPRICITY (GT being the codename diagraphic for sensitive Eastern Europe/USSR operations and the rest being an arbitrary dictionary word was the convention for naming intelligence operations). Operation Apricity was designed to begin deep infiltration within Eastern European government to begin actively denying the USSR influence over the region. The idea was to infiltrate, identify sympathetic or individuals who could be blackmailed within Eastern European governments and develop them so that they could one day, in the long term, take over their governments and begin further clandestine actions or even outright revolution if the conditions were favourable. Meanwhile in Poland, the Soviet Union opted to sponsor a coup d’etat to topple the existing government and bring in martial law as the Polish general Jaruzelski took over. Solidarity was forcefully disbanded and a major civil order operation was carried out by the military to enforce the martial law for over a year. The USSR did not want to be seen as invading another country so soon after beginning an occupation of Afghanistan the previous year, as such the coup option was preferred and eventually chosen. Around the same time, China, reeling from the death of Mao, had already begun experimenting with Special Economic Zones (SEZ’s) where the Communist party allowed capitalist businesses to operate. China’s trade with foreign countries (in particular with the United States) had increases by an exponential amount over the last 5 years. It’s new leadership, being led by Deng Xiaoping, were economic liberals, open to using capitalism to achieve the goals of Communism (although it must be said they were not at all interested in political freedom for their people, only economic freedom, as such China remained controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. There were other reasons for this action. Aside from his economic pragmatism and liberal policy advocacies, Deng Xiaoping, like Mao, had realised the Soviet Union posed a greater threat to China then the United States did (the Sino – Soviet Conflict, although it had calmed down since 1969, there were still Soviet troops occupying some of what Chinese considered its own territory in the northern border with the USSR). Furthermore, the fact that they bordered the one nation in the world with more nuclear weapons than any other country in the world (the Soviet Union), gave China extensive reason to be insecure. As such, it pursued a friendlier, alliance of convenience with the United States, despite being a fellow Communist state. The United States in turn wanted to show the USSR that it could turn other Communist states against the USSR, in order to further de-legitimise it and its ideology. Operation GTAPRICITY (usually referred to as Apricity in short) had an un-intended consequence in Eastern Europe, and in particular in Poland. Poland for the last 300 years had been divided up and conquered by Germany or Russia or both several times throughout its history. The goal of Operation Apricity was to create the conditions necessary for a wave of independent revolutions across Eastern Europe to occur at some point in the far-off future. Some of the candidates for leading and running this operation within Eastern Europe happened to be ultra-nationalists, whose hatred for both Communism and the Soviet Union made the ideal intelligence assets (spies) for Western intelligence. They were given extensive training and access to resources and manpower by their handlers, Western intelligence officers operating undercover throughout the continent. Of course, some of these intelligence officers were German, or French (Napoleon had betrayed Poland during the Napoleonic Wars, which was not forgotten by Polish ultra-nationalists). Their ideology was one of putting Poland first and making all foreigners, even democratic Westerners, suspect. Poland was to be freed, whatever the cost, as they concluded it was necessary for the future of the country’s survival. This would ultimately lead to devastating consequences in the future, but for now, the Polish ultra-nationalists were using the West to develop their connections, influence and power over the Soviet installed Polish government, without necessarily informing their Western allies. This eventually spawned a nameless organisation which the Polish ultra-nationalists used to communicate and coordinate with one another. It was made up mostly of PVA (Polish Armed Forces) Commisioned Officers, special forces operators, Polish intelligence officers, mid-ranking and few high ranking military and government officials. They had two goals in order to achieve the independence of Poland, first to covertly take over Poland via infiltration (as was the purpose of Operation Apricity run by the West), and the second was the acquire a nuclear device. It should be mentioned that not all of the Western intelligence assets in Poland however, were ultra-nationalists. Operation Apricity did provide certain results. Through it, Western Intelligence agencies were able to discover the existence of a secret, new Soviet military doctrine known as “Cold Start”. Cold Start was designed to allow the large USSR military to manoeuvre quickly through Europe in the event of a war, to use its large force to quickly surround enemy forces and force them to surrender thus rendering Western Europe’s military’s quickly inoperable and preventing, or rather creating, an alternative to nuclear war. In essence, it was designed to regain the massive conventional military advantage that the USSR had before the 1960s (which was one of the main reasons why the West feared the USSR so much during the 1950s). The BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst, German Intelligence) had its intelligence officers delivering this information to the West when someone was captured by the KGB, Soviet Intelligence and also the world’s premier intelligence organisation. The intelligence official captured happened to be a German Intelligence officer who although did not know the existence of Operation Apricity (only high ranking members of Western Intelligence agencies were aware of the operation in order to minimise exposure and secret getting out), was able to figure out the objectives of Operation Apricity (free Eastern Europe from Soviet control). Through interrogation, the Soviet Union naturally began to realise (after confirming by capturing several other western intelligence assets and officers in their territory) that there was a massive Western plot to wrest the Soviet Union’s control of Eastern Europe, which they had lots millions of lives taking over during the Great Patriotic War (what the Soviets call World War II). The KGB began to strike back, launching an operation to try to capture all the infiltrated Western agents and Western sympathisers within the Eastern subcontinent of Europe. East Germany’s legendary secret police Stasi had prevented Apricity’s success in East Germany with its unprecedentedly effective surveillance methods, but the same could not be said of the other Eastern Bloc states, particularly the largest, Poland. By the late 1980s, Operation Apricity had astoundingly successful resulted in Poland, driven in part by the high motivation of the ultra-nationalist faction participating within the Operation. By this point, intelligence assets recruited through Apricity had a few members within the Polish Politburo and several generals within the Polish military and even a deputy director of Polish intelligence whose position allowed him to provide espionage cover for other Apricity assets all over the country and access to several important Polish defence, intelligence and policy related documents. The ultra-nationalist factions (unwittingly cultivated by Western intelligence) began to use their influence and power within the government to manufacture large amounts of Weapons of Mass Destruction, not nuclear, but Chemical and Biological weapons. It was kept secret from the Soviet Union and the West, despite Poland being a part of the 1973 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). Operation Apricity was a fragile operation. It was easy for Western intelligence to infiltrate the Polish government and the governments of other Eastern Bloc countries (except for East Germany), but it was just as easy for the KGB to begin rooting them out, and the Polish ultra-nationalist faction took note of this development. The Polish ultra-nationalists, along with other ultra-nationalist factions in other Eastern Bloc countries began to make the move to liberate their countries by force. In Poland, the Communist military dictator General Jaruzelski was arrested by military forces loyal to the ultra-nationalist faction who then proceeded to conduct a coup d’etat and take over the Polish government. Their Western allies who’s training and resources had given them so much of their influence, were not informed beforehand that the coup would take place. The Ultra-nationalists had to move fast knowing that if they had not taken over Poland at that time, all their years of hard work would be undone by the KGB and the Soviet Union and that the Polish people would have to suffer even more draconian control by the USSR. By the time the coup was over in 11th of November, 1989, Poland had declared independence and had become the new Republic of Poland. The ultra-nationalist faction who opposed Communism and the Soviet Union first and foremost had become a popular force within Poland and tens of thousands of Poles enlisted in the liberated military, which was now preparing for a Soviet response. Throughout the rest of Eastern Europe, similar coups and revolutions were taking place. The Soviet Union, with the help of East Germany, Romania and some Soviet loyalists within the Eastern Bloc began to use the Warsaw Pact to legitimise the enforcing of the Brezhnev Doctrine which was quickly falling apart. Operation Cold Start, initially designed for an invasion of Western Europe, was now being re-planned an implemented for all-out invasion of Western Europe. In Eastern Europe, the USSR had 4 armies, Group of Northern Forces (in Poland), Group of Southern Forces (Hungary), Group of Central Forces (Czechoslovakia) and the Group of Western Forces (East Germany). These 4 armies began to subdue the local rebellions (except in East Germany where they fortified their position so as to deter Western intervention). Behind the USSR’s borders, the Soviet Armies prepared for a massive invasion of Eastern Europe and well over a million troops were mobilised. What made the situation in Poland extremely sensitive compared to the situation in other Eastern Bloc countries was that the Group of Northern Forces (Soviet Army deployed in Poland) was armed with nuclear weapons, approximately 250 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) and tactical nuclear missiles (launched via aircraft). The Poles knew the Soviets would not risk using a nuclear weapon on their own soil merely to quell a rebellion, the United States would’ve responded with nuclear war. Protecting these nukes were roughly 120,000 Soviet troops stationed in the country. The regular Polish Army only had 7 full strength divisions which was not enough to fit off the Soviet troops already there but there were provisions to call up reserves and enlist almost half a million troops within a week. This was all the Ultra-nationalist faction needed to counter the Soviet threat. They had already achieved one of the two goals, creating an independent Polish state. Their second goal was to arm it with nuclear weapons. The Polish Air Force, by virtue of (formerly) being in the Warsaw Pact, had access to aircraft that could mount the Soviet nuclear missiles, as well as a few short range ballistic missiles which could fire the IRBMs. Poland only had half a million troops who were not as well equipped as the million man Soviet Army massing on its borders and the borders of the other Eastern Bloc countries. The ultra-nationalists, who now controlled the government, did not need an army that could fight back the Soviets, they only needed one that could capture the Soviet nukes from the Group of Northern Forces, the Soviet troops already stationed in Poland. Western Intelligence agencies and governments went haywire over the situation. This was not the situation they were prepared for or had envisioned. The Goal was to have a controlled rebellion of Eastern Europe, to be able to keep the situation as stable as possible. The Ultra-nationalists had not informed the West of their coup in Poland but it did not take a genius to figure out that they would head straight for the nukes that the USSR had stationed in Poland already. The result was that the Doomsday Clock was now 4 minutes to midnight, the closest it had been since the Cuban Missile Crisis. If Poland had captured a nuclear device, under the control of the ultra-nationalists, they could easily use it against the Soviet Union if they chose not to use it as a deterrent instead. That would result in a nuclear exchange, one that the West would likely become involved with no doubt. China even began to make preparations for war, noticing how the Soviet Union was acting in Eastern Europe, it’s insecurity only increased. As the War for Eastern Europe was well underway, the USSR fought to maintain its control over what it considered its own half of the continent. Poland faced an even more devastating Soviet military than it had initially expected. The Soviet Union in the last few years had increased its defence spending and created newer, better military equipment in large quantities. Tanks such as the new T-90A combined low profile (smaller height making it more difficult to shoot), with increased armour, firepower, accuracy and speed, steamrolled through Poland with the support of dozens of new advanced Soviet made weapons. In the end, the Group of Northern Forces was able to hold the line and protect the USSR’s nukes. While this provided comfort to the West and to the USSR (narrowly averting nuclear war), the Ultra-nationalist leadership in Poland was not yet ready to give up. Through sinister methods, a large portion of the Polish Army was used to divert Soviet troops away from their nuclear bases. Families of Soviet soldiers were held hostage by the Polish Ultra-nationalist government forces who then used it to blackmail Soviet soldiers into sneaking in a Polish Commando force into one of the nuclear bases. Long story short, Polish Commandos captured the nuclear base and smuggled out 11 Soviet air-launched tactical nuclear missiles and sent them to hidden locations across the country, before Soviet forces could counter-attack. However, the plan was never to use them against the Soviet Union, or set up a deterrent. Once the nuclear devices were captured, the USSR branded the entire Polish government (being led by ultra-nationalists) as a terrorist organisation and refused to negotiate any settlement. Being backed into a corner and still unwilling to use the nuclear weapons out of fear of ending the world (which would end Poland too), the Polish government sent hints to the West that they were considering using the nuclear weapons into to survive, without specifying where. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the military alliance of Western states led by the USA, was told that Poland needed an military intervention in order to secure its independence. Essentially, they were given a choice between potentially having a nuclear war, and starting World War III instead. Both options were terrible, but at least one option was not as ''terrible. On Christmas Day 1989, tanks and troops from the American, British, French, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Belgian, Italian, German armies began to roll through Eastern Europe. For Germany, the moment was an emotional one, considering it was the third time they launched a major invasion of Eastern Europe in a single century, the other 2 times were the First and Second World Wars. Other NATO countries such as Portugal, Greece and Norway needed more time to prepare for war. In Czechoslovakia, the local revolutionary government welcomed the NATO forces, as was the case in Hungary and of course, Poland as well. They were seen as liberating forces, helping these countries defend themselves from Soviet and Communist totalitarian oppression. East Germany resisted as its leadership had remained Pro – Soviet throughout the crisis. It’s army however barely put up a fight and East Germany was liberated and re-unified with West Germany within weeks and it’s army disbanded. This opened up a second corridor for NATO forces into Poland (the other being Hungary). NATO’s objective was clear and simple – remove Soviet troops from Europe, secure the independence of Eastern European countries and prevent the Polish government from launching a nuclear war. But this was easier said than done. In Asia, China launched a pre-emptive strike against the Soviet Union in an attempt to settle its border disputes, and quickly captured Vladivostok. But the People’s Liberation Army (China’s Army’s official name, PLA), was ill equipped and its only advantage was in its large numbers. But even numerical superiority means nothing when the enemy has the correct weapons. It was no longer World War 2 where larger armies won battles, by the 1980s, war had come to embody strategy and technology more-so than numbers. China’s army was underequipped to fight the Soviet Union, whose reserve forces (the ones with the most outdated equipment and least training) were still capable of holding off the PLA, liberating Vladivostok and even launching a counter-invasion despite being outnumbered. The Soviets, who put their most outdated troops had still manage to outgun the Chinese, an unexpected result. This new development in Asia led to more Soviet troops being freed up for use in Europe where the situation was dire. While Western forces had managed to hold back the Soviets at the Battle of Warsaw (March, 1990), Soviet reinforcements were on the way and NATO did not have enough time to send in their own reinforcements from North America. The ultra-nationalists in Poland had had enough. If NATO could no longer guarantee Poland’s independence and security, then there was something else that would. In 4th April, 1990, 11 Polish Air Force squadrons launched with tactical nuclear missiles (small nuclear missiles designed to destroy enemy armies rather than cities). These were the same nukes that were stolen from the Soviet Army in Poland early during the War (Group of Northern Forces). All 11 tactical nuclear missiles were launched and hit their targets successfully, but these targets were not in the Soviet Union. The Polish ultra-nationalists launched 11 nuclear missiles into their own country in order to destroy as many Soviet troops as possible without starting a nuclear war. Several small towns and cities were completely wiped off the map and millions of Polish citizens were killed by their own country to protect Poland’s survival in the future. At least, that’s how the ultra-nationalists saw it. In the days since the nuclear blasts decimating many parts of rural Poland, the United Nations began to call it the world’s first “self-genocide”, as well as “Poland’s Holocaust.” A Polish Air Force Colonel recalled the day he first saw the locations where the nuclear bombs were used. It was a few days after the nuclear event, and his aircraft had malfunctioned while flying, injuring him during the process. He saw the location where the nuclear bombs were dropped on his own country, by his own country. ''“…I should’ve died that day, but I didn’t. I dragged my wounded body and reached ground zero of the nuclear detonations, a barren, empty land. I felt an unbearable sadness when I witnessed the landscape…” “…There were still people living there…they were the ones who saved me.” Almost immediately, a ceasefire was called by the United States and the Soviet Union, neither wanted the war to escalate into a nuclear war. By this point, the Soviet Union had heard the message. It’s troops, most of which had been destroyed by the nukes were quickly leaving Poland, unwilling to risk further escalation. Eastern Europe was finally free, but it came at the cost of the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians in less than a single day. Poland was not destroyed, and there were still many tens of millions of citizens left, but what had happened was nonetheless a small-scale genocide. The ruling ultra-nationalists were removed from power in another coup led by liberal and moderate forces within the Polish military. NATO, who had also lost a significant number of troops in the nuclear blasts, became quite militarily weak in Europe, as was the Soviet Union. In Asia, Chinese and Soviet troops had pulled back to pre-war lines. Eventually, Boris Yeltsin came about and removed the Soviet Union’s Communist Party from power, and the Soviet Union broke up, with each of its 15 republics declaring independence. Russia became its successor state, taking the USSR’s place in the United Nations Security Council NATO began to re-organise. Its political and military structure became different. It’s member states were now pushing for a proto-federation, to speed up a process of eventual unification between all of its member states to ensure further security and the economic prosperity needed to rebuild Eastern Europe (especially Poland). Military unification was the first goal, to provide security in the nuclear stricken continent. As such, NATO began to look more and more like a single, unified state, but its members were still independent states and had their own militaries. Nevertheless, NATO was given more power, specifically in handling foreign and defence policy. The Polish holocaust caused NATO to pull together its nuclear HAZMAT and other emergency services and create a unified emergency services branch. They cooperated heavily with the new Polish, Belorussian and Ukrainian governments in containing the radiation outbreaks along the borders of the Eastern Poland. Death toll ranged well into the millions, more than 99% of which had occurred during the nuclear blasts. It took almost a year to finalise the negotiations and content of the Treaty of Copenhagen which officially ended the Third World War. The date for the signing was set to April 5th, 1991, one day after the first anniversary of the nuclear detonations. The Treaty took so long due to the confusion that began after the Soviet Union broke into 15 Republics. Furthermore, NATO member states were deciding whether to have each member state sign the treaty, or have NATO sign it on their behalf to give it further legitimacy and help it rise in the world stage. Eventually they decided to have the Treaty signed under NATO. However, it was all overshadowed by a developing insurgency problem in Europe. A secret operation was carried out by the United States Air Force in the months before the treaty signing date. With the consent of the French and German governments, the USAF sent in stealth bombers to drop bombs and wipe out the Franco – German Brigade which had revolted against both France and Germany and attacked NATO troops while stationed in Germany. It was a brigade under the EuroCorps, a multinational army formation consisting of five European countries. After the bombing, the incident was covered up by the CIA, who classified the operation, sent out fake soldiers letters of death to their families (a practice where when a soldier dies, a letter is sent to his/her family to share their last words). The incident was covered up under a story of a chemical weapons stash exploding and wiping out every member of the Franco – German Brigade. But the cover up did not work. Most soldiers in Europe at this point, regardless of their nationality, knew what was happening. The entire Franco – German Brigade had rebelled against their governments and against NATO and taken up the cause of Internationalism. A Manifesto was published by its commanding officer, blaming violent ultra-nationalism as the cause of all the world wars during the 20th century and as the cause of the Polish Holocaust. It went on to blame politicians as throwing away the lives of soldiers and civilians fighting each country’s total wars. They blamed politicians for de-valuing the lives of soldiers and civilians alike. The manifesto was vague but the ideology was clear: "Rising above countries and armies, our world with no boundaries will become one, for the ideal, for those who were lost.” The CIA and other intelligence agencies coordinated with one another to control this manifesto, preventing its publication and spread. The ideology struck a tone with certain intelligence officers however, those who felt they could put their skills in intelligence to serve the world, and not just their countries. As such, the manifesto was released by rogue CIA officers who then proceeded to defect to an as of yet unknown organisation. The most unprecedented rebellion had just begun. Several different editions of the manifesto began to spread throughout Europe, in towns, cities and most importantly, military bases. With most of the fighting forces in both NATO and the former Warsaw Pact gone, most of the remaining troops in Europe were war vets who had experienced first-hand the nuclear detonations and its aftermaths, even if they survived from a distance. A captured Franco – German Brigade insurgent explained under interrogation from DGSE (French Intelligence): “Our morale was low, but then we read the manifesto. It helped us understand that despite all the destruction, there was still something we could fight for, an ideal. And that gave us hope, because it was more meaningful than just one country.” But the manifesto was more dangerous than just an ideology. It was specifically targeting veterans of the Third World War, and members of armed forces worldwide. It didn’t just call for abandoning, deserting or betraying your country, but it outlined how. Generals who had been exposed to the manifesto began to desert their position and went missing. NATO’s military staff attempted to control its spread throughout its military units but this was largely unsuccessful as many NATO troops alone had become disillusioned by the Third World War. A few days before the signing of the treaty, rogue CIA, NSA Officers in cooperation with rogue KGB, and rogue agents from other countries smuggled out the classified reports regarding the bombing of the Franco – German Brigade so 6 worldwide newspapers and media companies. A major scandal occurred within the armed forces of all the NATO countries. During the war, incidents of friendly fire were common mistakes. This one was different because it was an act of deliberate friendly fire, governments condemning their troops to die without a trial or charge of treason of terrorism. In the following days, entire brigades began to desert their positions and several units stopped reporting in. NATO realised that such a coordinated operation, first to disseminate the Franco – German Brigade’s manifesto and then to release evidence of the USAF’s bombing of the aforementioned brigade was definitely being controlled by some sort of leadership. NATO was not the only force afraid of this new ideology spreading. During a special raid conducted by Russian Spetsnaz’s Alfa Group (the premier Russian counter – terrorist special forces unit), a rebel defector soldier continued to fight while outnumbered and outgunned despite jumping on a grenade to save the lives of his squad. The grenade which had malfunctioned did not explode properly, allowing him to continue shooting back. It took another grenade to properly kill the martyr, after he had taken down 5 Russian Alfa group commandos, one of whom was their commanding officer. Even though Alfa group had accomplished its objective and successfully raided the internationalist rebels safe house, the story soon broke out, first amongst Russian Army troops and eventually making its way to NATO army troops. To make matters worse, the Alfa team sent in for the raid never reported back to base after reporting the mission’s success. They had defected to the very organisation they were sent to destroy, and this was the final act. With entire brigades going missing and heroic stories of soldiers and spies fighting against their governments for a higher cause (confirmed by independent journalists), even protests began showing up in large international cities across the world. New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Rome etc. Political parties in several countries began registering themselves in upcoming elections in several western democratic countries, espousing the ideology of internationalism. And finally, as the Manifesto showed, it did not just contain the ideology, but the means by which it would become successful. Insurgents across Europe began wearing arm patches identifying themselves as “AWWNB” – A World With No Boundaries. Its leadership presented itself to the public eye to show that this was a revolution capable of success. In many ways, its leadership used the same methods that early 20th century Communists used, organising political parties, coordinating with the parties in other countries, and forming an armed wing. AWWNB revealed itself as a multinational military force, former enemies fighting with one another for revenge that they blamed on untrustworthy politicians and for a better, unified world. Nonetheless, AWWNB was an extremist organisation, conducting a continental wide insurgency and was labelled a “Paramilitary Terrorist Organisation” by the U.S. State Department and several Foreign Ministries across Europe in order to de – legitimise the movement. This move had failed. As entire battalions and even brigades defected almost entire to this organisation, AWWNB was looking less like a terrorist organisation or an insurgency, but increasingly like a well-oiled conventional army with excellent logistics and even access to AWACS (Air Warning and Control System, a new sky – based radar system employed by the U.S. Air Force). One of the first AWACS available to the U.S. Air Force, an E-8 Joint STARS (Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, essentially a command vehicle with access to high quality radar computer systems) had even ended up in the hands of the AWWNB. By this point, NATO had concluded that AWWNB had become the world’s most effective and dangerously excellently armed non – state actor. It was a self – sufficient armed force with significant political clout and influence with access to some of the most advanced weapons systems on the planet led by ideological fervour and discipline, and while it was designated initially as a terrorist organisation and an insurgency, within a few months it had developed into an armed force with a chain of command, with several generals and political leaders defecting to the organisation who then took up its leadership (including the former U.N. Secretary General who had also defected to the AWWNB after being disillusioned by being powerless to stop the Third World War). It had become the greatest hazard to the concept of state sovereignty for the first time in history. And to make matters worse, many of the generals and political leaders leading the organisation held extremist views. By 5th April, 1991, the day of the signing of the Treaty of Copenhagen officially ending the Third World War, AWWNB launched Operation Bastion, essentially turning the conflict from an unconventional insurgency into a convention war at this point. Armed with the most modern weapons and a large selection of well trained, motivated and experienced troops, a surprise attached was launched and captured several cities and grabbed land throughout northern Europe. The goal remained unclear and known only to the AWWNB leadership, but NATO knew to act with extreme prejudice as AWWNB held nothing but ill-will. '''' Category:Browse __FORCETOC__